Hello everyone. I’m new to this forum and learning a lot reading the threads here. I have a '68 standard Cougar with a 302-2V. The headlight covers go up easily enough but won’t come back down. I can hear the vacuum try to do its thing but it doesn’t seem to be enough to pull them down. They do seem to grind a bit near the top of their travel but they aren’t hard to manually move down. While I can manually push them down and they stay put but it would be nice if they moved down on their own.
I have seen where the vacuum “motors” wear out and that WCCC will rebuild them for a fee. Is this the case here or could something else be going on? I’m asking because both sides work fine lifting the covers but neither will come down on its own. Any advice for further troubleshooting this problem is greatly appreciated.
You can use a hand held vacuum pump like you use to bleed the brakes. Hook that up to each vacuum motor and see if you can raise and lower them. if both motors work using the hand held pump then the motors are OK. especially if they will hold vacuum as well. The next area to check would be the head light switch. A plunger moves to different ports to raise/lower the head light doors. You could have a vacuum leak there as well. Check all the hoses for leaks and make sure they are tight on all the fittings. Might want to snip a 1/4" off the hose so they fit tight again, as they get loose with age.
Since they go in one direction it sounds like the diaphragm in the motor is okay. I would check the vacuum hose connection where it splits from one line to two and see if you are getting vacuum there. IF so check at the base of each motor and see what you are getting there. Lots of times you can get a quick fix just by cutting off the end of the hardened or split hoses and putting them back on.
Greetings! If you do not have a vacuum pump simply placing your finger on the upper nipple and forcing the shaft down will determine if you have a leak. I can pretty much tell you do in fact need to replace the vacuum actuators. Part I and part II of this video will explain better.
Actually that is not correct. Usually a failing actuator will open and close slowly or not at all. Reason being the lower chamber is sealed but the upper chamber has the rod going through a flexible seal that wears.
Good point, but let me elaborate. For the motor to go one direction in this case down (the motor goes down, the eyelid goes up) it means that the diaphragm has to be intact, (the seal can be completely shot). If the diaphragm is split, in my experience they won’t open or close. Checking to see if you can pull vacuum at the bottom of the motor checks out the diaphragm not the seal.
Another common problem I have found is that the vacuum part of the switch gets filled with gunk. The gunk tends to accumulate in the headlight closed position (this is where it is at most of the time), so when you slide the switch to the open position it still works. You can sometimes blow the gunk out with WD 40 and compressed air. Some times you can hear a hissing coming from the switch when it is funked up. If you re really cheap like me you can drill out the rivets and fix the switch.
If you still have vacuum from the hose at the base of the motor while trying to CLOSE the headlights, then the problem is in the switch. The vacuum part of the switch is the part at the back.
That is true, I remember hearing the cool sound of the Click, click, click from the turn signal relay’s on my 71. Im so looking forward to hearing that again one day, with the 68.
The mechanical motor-driven sequencers and relays, now that was some awesome technology for the day! The sound was way cool, not having the sequencers working…not so cool.
Steven
Ha! When I first purchased this car, the sequencers weren’t working - just the center light on both sides would flash. I believe the diagnosis there is a bad emergency flasher relay. Next, the small motor that powers the little cam that makes the lights flash decided not to work.
After reading several posts and wire diagrams on the subject and pricing my options, I did purchase the solid-state replacement from WCCC
I also have to admit that the kit installs quickly, easily, and works perfectly. I would do it all again.
The original sequencers certainly are something to marvel at.
Thanks for all the responses. It’s still really cold here in Buffalo but I’ll post a reply once I’ve figured out what’s going on with these headlights. Thanks!
It’s been 11 years since this topic but I’m shooting my round just in case :
My headlights do go up, but then when turning them off, the lid won’t come down and i wonder how it’s possible ? Anyone have a clue ?
